The Experience Insider

Our residents look forward to the calendar of events this season, such as the Holiday Cart Parade the first week of December. Our residents deck their golf carts with all the trimmings for a contest of the most festive golf cart. They also parade throughout the community showing off their decorated masterpieces. It is definitely the most wonderful time of the year!

What are you most looking forward to this holiday season? Are there any events or activities you have planned?

I want to share a handy golf tip with you when using your wedges. Here’s an alternative technique to try the next time you need a wedge shot to fly high and land softly.

Weaken your left-hand grip (for right-handers), turning your hand under the club so that your left palm faces more toward the sky. With your left hand in this weakened position, the clubface will remain open through the hitting zone and your shot will be shorter and fly higher than normal and land like a butterfly with sore feet. Experiment with this shot on the range. You’ll quickly learn that the more you turn your left hand under the club, the higher and softer (and shorter) the resulting shot will be. Swing softly and carry a soft swing!

Do you find this tip helpful? Have you tried this drill on the driving range before?

Throughout the week, we enjoy the company of many of our members dining at The Bay Club. I just introduced a brand-new menu for The Bistro and at our tiki bar. There are  new culinary concoctions, along with popular menu items from our older menus. I enjoy hearing the members’ feedback on their dining experiences. I strive to cater the menus to fit their favorite dishes and ideas. Our goal is to exceed our members’ expectations and offer a one-of-a-kind dining experience.

What is cookin’ in YOUR kitchen? Or maybe at your favorite restaurant? Let me know what is your favorite dinner dish.

I am very excited to see all of the boats in our marina. It creates a wonderful boating community on Tampa Bay. This holiday season, at Westshore Yacht Club Marina, we plan on decking the boats with lights with the holiday spirit in mind on December 18.  It should be a great way for our members to showcase their boats and be part of the holiday cheer throughout The Bay Club. In addition, it should be a great night to enjoy the company of neighbors and fabulous food.

Have any of you been involved in a boat parade before? If so, when, where and how did it go?

Our Ladies’ Golf Association had a busy beginning of the season, but they are sure eager to get started. We had our first Ryder Cup/Opening Luncheon and the Ladies’ Match Play Club Championship. We had a great field of players that were also praising the good conditions of the greens and fairways! On behalf of the Golf Club staff we are happy to see all of our members back and also welcoming new ones! I am looking forward to seeing all of our golfers back in the swing of things as we get more into season.

Have you been able to experience the Pelican Preserve golf course? Share with us about your experience.

This is a wonderful time of year while we welcome back our seasonal residents. It is great to see the Club filled with smiling faces and our activities calendar full of new and exciting events for the season. We just kicked off the season with our annual Welcome Back Party - The Pig Roast in mid-November. Residents enjoyed reuniting with old friends and danced the night away with live entertainment from a local band, Hot Topic.

What activity do you most look forward to doing in the beautiful Florida weather?

As we head into the Holiday season, we tend to let things pile up on us and become overwhelmed with daily stresses. This is not a good thing, so I always recommend to our members to press the “reset” button to clear your head. At Spa Nautique, we do our best to help avoid the holiday burnout feeling and offer fantastic relaxation services during this time of year, along with key techniques to bring out your personal best!

Do you have any special techniques to ease the stresses of the holidays?

A lot of golfers struggle with hitting just the right shot to get their ball out of the bunker and onto safe ground to putt it in and get that par. The key to effective bunker play starts with the right club and more importantly, the right attitude. So get out your sand wedge and let’s get started. Click to continue reading »

Pelican Preserve has so much to offer each resident who lives here. We have pool parties, outdoor concerts, nature walks, fitness classes, spa treatments, golf tournaments, arts and crafts classes and much, much, more! I truly enjoy being a part of the all the excitement through providing our residents with memorable, fun experiences in and outside the Club.

Speaking of outside the Club, we just completed a sprint triathlon in the beginning of September in Venice, Florida. The entire Pelican Preserve staff participated, as well as residents, family and friends. There were also several residents who came to the event just to cheer us on. We have been training all summer, so there was great anticipation of this event through our physical and mental training.

Have you participated in an event with fellow residents in your community? Do you have any questions you would like to ask about Pelican Preserve or the amenities we have here? Let me know and be sure to check back often, as you never know what adventure the residents will be on next or what happenings you will want to keep up with, or better yet join in on!

The season is upon us and the staff and I are excited to welcome back our members from up north. Our golf calendar for the season is packed with our yearly tournaments and a few new ones that we hope our members and guests will enjoy. We hosted the 32^nd Annual Pat Bradley Florida International Invitational October 26-27. Fifteen colleges from around the country participated and it was a blast. I think Pelican Preserve is fortunate to be able to open up our wonderful 27 holes of golf to be able to host such an event and provide the experience to aspiring golfers. We could not have asked for better weather and the greens were fast making it a challenge for the players.

Have you attended a Golf Invitational recently and would like to share what your experience?

Hit ‘em straight,

Bryan